The Real Reason Sharing Your Knowledge Matters

We all know that people do business with people they know, like, and trust.?

Know is easy. It can be as simple as a name. You might forget their name, but you can’t really unknow them.

Like is an emotional reaction that happens fast and early. First impressions form a person’s likeability factor. It influences how much you’re willing to invest in confirming or changing your mind about this person.

Trust is complicated.?

Trust is nuanced.?

Trust is a deeper commitment that’s earned and polished over time.?

Trust can be lost a lot faster than it’s earned. It can vanish because of a missed deliverable, a casual, unintentionally damaging word choice, or a blatant lie.?

Of the three legs of the relationship stool – know, like, and trust – it’s trust that keeps the stool sturdy, upright, and suitable for sitting.

How Sharing Knowledge and Trust Are Connected

I was having a conversation over lunch last week with two business leaders. The question of how much information to share with a client came up.

We all agreed that our commitment is to solve our clients’ problems as effectively as possible. It’s the outcome that matters to them, not all the unseen work we do. But there’s a trap with this single-minded focus that can lead to missed opportunities or worse.

One of the folks shared an unfortunate (for him) outcome that highlights the importance of knowledge sharing.?

He had invested a significant amount of time laying the groundwork for the most favorable results for his client. Everyone came away satisfied. A year later when it was time to renew their services the client canceled.

It wasn’t that the client was unhappy with what he had received. He simply didn’t have the knowledge necessary to appreciate all that went into delivering his result.?

Looking back this business leader realized that he should have done more to help his client see the significance of the work they did together.

There was too great a disconnect between the problem and the expertise that delivered the solution. Once the result was delivered the client received nothing all year. No practical, ongoing reinforcements that this was a trusted relationship.

How Not to Feel Like a Boastful Jerk

As business professionals, we don’t want to come across as obnoxious, boastful, and all-knowing blowhards. No client will – or should -- tolerate that relationship imbalance.

But we do have an obligation to continually share our knowledge in a way that maintains trust, ensures transparency, and builds a mutually respectful relationship.?

Instead of assuming that clients don’t want to know how you solved a problem, why not frame your knowledge in ways that show the unseen value of your experience.

After all, clients need to continually reassure themselves that they have made the right decision to work with you.

Don’t Be a Knowledge Hoarder

I recently suggested to a client that they add more educational, informative content to their otherwise static, salesy website. They were selling essential but generally disliked and distrusted services in the B2B space.?

Instead of considering the suggestion, they pushed back. They were confident that prospects would always buy once a salesperson was in front of them. That might have worked (although I doubt it) in the last century, but it’s not a transparent, trustworthy tactic today.

Keeping It Simple

The hardest part about sharing your knowledge consistently is keeping it simple. Most of us have too much that’s shareable.

After 33 years of chipping away at this – long before anyone said that’s what we were supposed to do – I've collected tips you might find useful. In the spirit of keeping this email short, I’m happy to share more details with you if you’re interested.

1. Share consistently.

The work can quickly feel tedious, and it requires discipline to show up day after day.

2. Engage with the people on social media who are in the same or complementary space you’re in.?

Build relationships by contributing thoughtful, useful comments on others’ posts. “I agree” is trite and unhelpful.

3. Show up where your desired audience is.

If you’re in the B2B space, then LinkedIn is the place to be. (I’m happy to share my work in progress tips on LinkedIn.)

4. Commit to a daily routine of creating, posting, and sharing.?

5. Focus on your target audience and ignore everyone else.

6. Pick the medium that your audience will appreciate and you’re comfortable using.

7. Think like your audience.

Give them what they deserve to hear, not what you want to say.

8. Email is a tool that everyone uses.

It's alive and well in spite of what some might say.

Build your email list and put it to work with up-to-the-minute information your audience needs to know. It doesn't have to be fancy. It just needs to be useful.

For example, here's part of an email I received yesterday from a business attorney. --

. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. .?. . .?. . .?. . . . . . . . . .

Linda,

Corporate Transparency Act Ruled Unconstitutional This is just a quick note to let you know that, on Friday, a Federal District Court ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is unconstitutional.

The CTA requires most closely held business entities to submit beneficial owner information (BOI) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).?

The National Small Business Administration, a plaintiff in the action, claimed the law was unconstitutional because it exceeded the limited powers of Congress and violated the first, fourth, and fifth amendments.

The Court ruled that the law exceeded the limited powers of Congress.

[...]

. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . .?. . . . . . . . . . .

Is it fancy? Not at all.

Is it useful? Sure is. I didn't know that the law had even been proposed or overturned.?

9. Show. Don’t sell.

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